Scheming Siblings
by Aka-Baka Hoshi
Summary: This is not connected to my other Gaim fics and is currently a stand-alone. Warning: OOCness inside. Review, please?


"How is it going, nii-chan?"

Ryouma looked up at the unexpected interruption and smiled. Sengoku Reiko stood in the doorway wearing a blue shirt with stars and sparkles and embellishments on it paired with dark-wash jeans, her dark hair in a ponytail matching her brother's, a cup in each hand.

"Better, thanks to your input. I think I'm closer to perfecting it." He leaned back, looking at the picture of the prototype Driver on his screen.

"What are you going to call it?" Reiko asked, walking over and setting a cup down on a hot pad.

"Well, obviously it's going to be called a Sengoku Driver," Ryouma said, grinning up at her. "That's after you, for all the help you've given to me, and the world."

"Aww, nii-chan," Reiko said, smiling, "that's so sweet. Thank you."

"Still, it's nowhere near production ready," Ryouma grumbled as he sat back and picked up the cup.

"And yet here it is, practically a reality, five years ahead of schedule," Reiko said, sitting on the desk. "You've worked marvels, Ryouma, don't doubt your abilities."

Ryouma smiled at her, and took a sip. His eyebrows rose in surprise.

"Not too much cinnamon, right?" Reiko asked, somewhat nervously.

"No, this is wonderful," Ryouma said, taking another sip. "You've gotten good at making these."

"I had a good teacher," Reiko demurred as she took a sip of her own drink, then grimaced. "That one was bitter."

"Try adding some honey," Ryouma suggested. "You may have to cut back a bit on the sugar, but it's worth a shot."

"Next time," Reiko said, and took a gulp. She shuddered. "That made it worse."

"Throw it away if you don't like it," Ryouma said, taking another sip of his. Reiko reached over and dropped her cup into a garbage bin. "How's job-hunting been?" her brother asked.

"Slow, but I think I've found a good one. It's at a fruit-themed restaurant named Drupers."

"Didn't you mention that earlier?"

"Yeah, I want to be able to keep an eye on things from the Beat Riders' end." Reiko pulled an apple out of her pocket and took a bite. Chewing for a contemplative moment, she swallowed before saying, "I still think that he doesn't need to know."

"Who doesn't need to know what?" Kureshima Takatora entered the room.

"My best friend's brother doesn't need to know that I'm planning on getting him something special for his birthday," Reiko said. "It's supposed to be a secret, but I think that he's going to find out before his birthday on accident." She took a small bite of her apple. "We keep meeting in the oddest places, and I think that he's going to figure it out sooner rather than later. He's a smart kid." While she was talking indirectly about Micchi's birthday, which was coming up soon, she was also talking about Takatora himself, and the present of a Sengoku Driver and Melon Lockseed, marking his birthday as the white Armored Rider, Zangetsu, also known as Kamen Rider Zangetsu in her mind.

Takatora looked at her for a moment, then turned his attention to Ryouma. "How goes the project?"

"It's nearing completion," Ryouma said, "But it's not there yet. About three months, give or take about a week." He took a drink. "Other than that, everything seems to be on schedule from my end."

"OUR end," Reiko corrected, nudging her brother. "Don't forget, I was the one to give you the idea for a Lock-based system."

"True," he said, grinning. "Let me rephrase my last statement; everything is going well from our end."

"Good to hear. Write up a progress report and have it on my desk tomorrow morning," Takatora said, and left.

"He's going to become a Rider, isn't he?" Ryouma asked, watching the door close and his friend walk away.

"Unfortunately, yes." Reiko picked at a scab on her arm. "Which is why I don't want him to know more than he has to before he's ready."

"Didn't you say that not talking was the main reason that things went so off-kilter?" Ryouma asked.

"Yes, it was," Reiko admitted, "but still, he's our friend." She sighed. "I guess that he deserves to know something. After all, he was the one to discover Helheim in the first place."

"When we finish the Driver, then we tell him, if not sooner." Ryouma saved his progress, then stood up and stretched. "Man, I'm sore. It's amazing how much sitting in from of a computer for hours on end can hurt." Reiko grinned in response, but didn't reply.

"Hey, it'll be okay." Ryouma slung an arm around her shoulders. "We have five more years thanks to you. Surely that counts for something?"

"But that might mean that things could happen sooner, and there's so much that could still go wrong," Reiko said, leaning into her brother. "There's—"

"Ah!" Ryouma clapped a hand over her mouth. "No spoilers. I know far too much already. Wait until it gets closer to the actual event."

"But it's an event I want to change!" Reiko protested, pulling off his hand. "The fruits of Helheim contain a virus that turns the people and animals that eat them into Inves, and I want to stop someone from eating a fruit."

"Then come up with some ideas, and wait until it gets closer to the actual event to talk to me more." Seeing the desperate look in Reiko's eyes, Ryouma sighed, and pulled her into a hug. "I know that you want to change everything, but you have to watch it, otherwise you'll burn yourself out before your real work begins. At least promise me that you won't worry about anything until we get the Sengoku Driver completed."

"I'll try, nii-chan." Reiko wrapped her arms around her brother and squeezed. "So many people die, though. I know that I can't save them all, but I want to save at least a few of them."

"Well, then write the names of those few down, how and when they die and how to change it. Include several options, then come to me and Takatora when it gets closer to the time. You don't have to use actual dates, just include events that will warn us when the time draws near."

"Okay," Reiko said, snuggling into the hug. Ryouma squeezed, then let go.

"Now, how about we go and find some lunch?" he asked, pulling her ponytail. She flicked him with its end, and they walked out of his office hand in hand.

* * *

Any one confused? It's a different Universe from my other Gaim fics.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN KAMEN RIDER GAIM! I only own Reiko.

I'll try to post a one-shot backstory for Reiko, but only if people like her. She won't become a Rider, and I don't want her to be a Mary Sue, so if anyone has suggestions, I'm willing to listen.


End file.
